1. U.S Markets Move Down; Crude Oil at 2 Year High
Real estate, materials and health care sectors pushed S&P 500 index lower, with consumer data showing spending shifting to services. It is still a calm mood with low volatile movements ahead of the Federal Reserve’s policy decision.
Investors are looking for an announcement on if and when the Fed will slow the speed of bond purchases.
Stoxx Europe is up 0.13%
Dow Jones is down 0.46%
NASDAQ is down 0.55%
2. H&M Sales Surge 62%
H&M, the world’s second-biggest fashion retailer, said on Tuesday said the net sales grew in the fiscal second quarter by 62%, though the revenue is still below 2019 levels. In the year-earlier quarter, it had to close 4,000 of its total 5000 stores. Compared with the second quarter of 2019, H&M’s net sales went down 19%
3. U.K’s May Employee Numbers Look Good
As per the Tax data released on Tuesday UK reported its highest single-month employee growth in May. British companies added 197,000 employees in May taking the total to 2.85 crores.
4. French Court Fines IKEA For Spying
French Court on Tuesday fined Rs 8.8 crores on IKEA for spying on its french employees. The Swedish company which is considered the world’s biggest furniture retailer has been spying on its french employees for more than seven years. Prosecutors were trying for double the amount as fine against the firm, which is owned by the Ingka Group.
5. Turkish Lira Falls After US-Turkey Meeting Makes No Progress
Turkish Currency Lira fell for the second day against the US dollar after the highly anticipated meeting between US President Joe Biden and Turkey’s Recep Tayyip Erdogan failed to solve the political issues. The Lira weakened more than1% against the dollar on Tuesday.
6. UK And Australia Agrees On Post-Brexit Trade Deal
Australia and the United Kingdom announced a free trade agreement Tuesday after the key elements of the deal were agreed by UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison at a meeting in Downing Street. This is the first major bilateral free trade agreement by the United Kingdom since it left the European Union in January 2020. More details will be published in the coming days.
7. Tensions Increase Between U.S and China
In what is looking very bad indeed efor the global economy, the tensions between China and the U.S. along with their allies have been increasing.
President Joe Biden is looking to have G7 countries present a united stance against China for trade, human rights and the pandemic. China called the U.S “very ill indeed”, and said “The G-7 had better take its pulse and come up with a prescription.”
8. AstraZeneca’s Covid Cocktail Fails to Prevent Symptoms
According to a trial, AstraZeneca’s antibody cocktail was only 33% effective at preventing Covid-19 symptoms in people exposed to the virus. The cocktail failed the study.
The company said it’s running 5 other trials looking at other uses and to clarify the findings. In all cases, the cocktail itself was well tolerated by participants. Interestingly, the U.S. has already ordered up to 7 lakh doses of the medicine for delivery this year, even before the results were published.
9. China Sends 28 Fighter Jets Near Taiwan increasing Tension
China’s air force sent 28 aircraft close to Taiwan, in a measure to put further pressure on the country. China claims Taiwan as part of its territory and repeatedly threatens military aggression. The Chinese Defense Ministry said in April that the navy would plan more drills.
10. Malaysia Targets Re-opening of Economy from October
Malaysia Expects to Fully Reopen Its Economy From the end of October. Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin expects this reopening to go in full swing if new Covid-19 cases fall below 500 a day. The lockdown is already showing results, PM Yassin said. The Covid-19 curve has begun flattening, and the healthcare system is able to handle new cases. The current lockdown is costing the country $242 million/day.
